olive oil – Scandelights

Recipe: The Easiest Yummiest Starter; Burrata with Tomatoes, Pesto and Olive Oil

Published on April 4, 2022 by Hanna2 Comments

If you’re Team Burrata, then this is for you!

I have made so many versions of this starter over the years but this is how I like it best. It’s super easy, just an assembly job really, but oh, so delicious!

We all know burrata is delicious. Especially paired with tomatoes. And basil. But take it one step further and substitute the fresh basil (although I use some for garnish) with fresh (this is important, it has to be fresh pesto, either store-bought – you find it by the fresh pasta and sauces – or homemade) pesto. It has more flavour, more texture and makes it feel more like a proper dish than just tomatoes and burrata together.

Although this is pretty much the only building blocks, I share a few tricks in the below recipe to elevate these flavours as much as possible.

But I also recommend bread of some kind. Either a crusty baguette or a chewy ciabatta or sourdough, or of course, crisp crostini.

Burrata with tomatoes, pesto and olive oil, serves 2

125 g burrata, removed from the fridge an hour before serving

100 g cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved

2-3 tsp fresh pesto

a good quality extra virgin olive oil

fresh basil

sea salt (I like Maldon) and black pepper

a wedge of lemon

Place the burrata in a shallow bowl or on a platter. Arrange the tomatoes around it. Add salt and pepper. Add the pesto to a little bowl and add a tbsp or so of olive oil to loosen it so you can drizzle it. Stir with a teaspoon and drizzle the pesto oil mixture over the burrata and tomatoes. Squeeze over lemon juice. Decorate with basil leaves. Add a little more salt and pepper. And just before bringing it to the table, drizzle with more of the olive oil. Serve with bread or crostini.

Recipe: burrata with figs and prosciutto

Published on August 27, 2018August 23, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

Fresh figs everyday. A Mediterranean dream or reality in the south of Sweden? The latter. I know people think we have polar bears walking the streets (not true!) but Sweden in the summer is often warmer (and less humid) than the UK, at least in the south where I’m from. And in my parents’ garden we have peach trees and fig trees bearing fruit each year.

The two weeks I was in Sweden earlier this month we had fresh figs every day. So many in face we had to come up with various ideas of how to eat them. This starter was one of the winners and it’s a simple assembly job with no actual cooking required. Perfect for a summer lunch or to start off a more casual dinner party. (Yes, it goes perfectly with rosé.).

Burrata with figs and prosciutto, serves 2-3 as a starter

1 burrata

4-6 fresh figs, washed and cut into quarters

6 slices prosciutto or other cured ham

2 handfuls rocket or mixed salad leaves

nice olive oil

balsamic vinegar

salt & black pepper

Take the burrata out o the fridge a good hour before you need it so it’s not fridge cold. Take a serving plate and cover the base with rocket leaves. Place the burrata whole in the middle of the plate and arrange the ham sliced and fig quarters around it. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Season well.

Recipe: fabulous lemon spaghetti

Published on May 17, 2018May 17, 2018 by HannaLeave a comment

Right now we have normal Spring weather in London (as one would expect in May), but when I made this lemony pasta for the book club girls we had summer temperatures in April (!). If it hadn’t been so windy, I would have liked to eat outside but indoors had to do.

Because of the nice weather I wanted to make something summery, but more filling than a salad, so when my colleague suggested this River Café recipe I had a hunch it would be perfect.

And it was!

Looking at the ingredients list it might seem like a heavy dish but the acidity from the lemon makes it appear as light as air (well almost). It’s so fresh and really tastes of summer. So much so that it’s easy to dream of Mediterranean holidays…

But back to London and reality. The pasta went down a treat (everybody had seconds) and Mary-Louise even asked for the recipe. She has since reported back that she made it twice in one weekend and that it works just as well with the pasta shape bucatini. Thank you M-L!

Lemon spaghetti with Parmesan and basil, serves 6

Adapted from River Café’s recipe.

250 g spaghetti

juice of 3-4 lemons, preferably Amalfi lemons

150 ml olive oil

150 g Parmesan, freshly grated

2 handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked and finely chopped

finely grated lemon zest

Cook the spaghetti in a generous amount of boiling salted water, then drain thoroughly and return to the saucepan.

Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice with the olive oil, then stir in the Parmesan; it will melt into the mixture, making it thick and creamy. Season with sea salt and black pepper and add more lemon juice to taste.

Add the sauce to the spaghetti and shake the pan so that each strand of pasta is coated with the cheese. Finally, stir in the chopped basil and some grated lemon zest.